Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Obviously original titles are much more welcomed to a system than remastered ones, but the PlayStation Vita's software is in a precarious position, as many in the West have overlooked the system's sensational offerings. It only makes sense, then, that if former Vita-exclusive games like Tearaway and Gravity Rush can get a second chance to shine on the PlayStation 4, then why can't others? Not only would these titles be great additions to the PS4 lineup, but they would have a better shot of selling. They might also be quite easy to port over, even if just released digitally like Gravity Rush is here in North America. It is with this list that SuperPhillip Central details five PlayStation Vita offerings we'd like to see come to the PS4 for a second chance in the spotlight.

5) Freedom Wars

Selling remarkably well in Japan, Freedom Wars has already seen success in one country. However, the game hasn't seen the same level of success in the West. This is why for this first game on SuperPhillip Central's list I think Freedom Wars should gain another chance to shine, this time on the PlayStation 4. What would bolster the community online already would be cross-play with PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 players, offering a whole new sector of players to jump in and enjoy the game with the already active player base. It's no question that the PlayStation Vita is as niche as niche can be here in the West, so getting Freedom Wars on the PlayStation 4 would get this late release on the system in more hands, and that can only be good. Then again, we're hardly sales analysts here.

4) Wipeout 2048

The final Wipeout game before SCE Liverpool was shuttered, Wipeout 2048 was a technical showcase of the PlayStation Vita's horsepower when it released as a launch title for the system several years ago. The game excels in fast speeds, amazing, high-intensity courses full of boost pads and shortcuts, strong-powered weaponry, and online that is a blast to play. The solo campaign delivers an obscene of content with different modes across the game's awesomely design tracks, too. While SCE Liverpool is indeed no more, the studio's legacy and final title could be celebrated on the PlayStation 4 with a release. After all, there is hole not just in the PS4 library, but the current gen library as well, for a futuristic, fast-paced racer that gets the adrenaline pumping like nothing else.

3) LittleBigPlanet PS Vita

LittleBigPlanet 3 was a massive disappointment to SuperPhillip Central. We kept thinking it would improve from the glitchy, bug-ridden mess it was, but months later, it's still not up to snuff. Meanwhile, you have one of the best entries of the LittleBigPlanet series sitting on the PlayStation Vita, and since many don't own the system, it didn't get anywhere near the acclaim it deserves. LittleBigPlanet PS Vita offers many PlayStation Vita hardware-exclusive controls, but as we saw with Tearaway: Unfolded, also from a series that Media Molecule created, the controls can be executed with the PlayStation 4 controller in mind, creating an experience that would definitely be an improvement over what we saw with LittleBigPlanet 3!

2) Killzone: Mercenary

The number two game on SuperPhillip Central's list is one that I enjoyed immensely, and it is certainly one of my favorite games on the PlayStation Vita, despite not really being a fan of the Killzone franchise itself. Killzone: Mercenary may have but nine missions, but these are so replay-able because you can opt to do different objectives. For instance, the demolition objectives may have you blowing up a tank that in the vanilla mission all you had to do was avoid it. These objectives open the levels up immensely, giving you a different experience each time. Most of us have come to the conclusion that the PS4 launch title Killzone: Shadow Fall was a bit of a disappointment. What better way to bring the series back to a high note (other than a higher quality new installment, of course) than a remastering of what many fans consider an excellent entry in the Killzone franchise, an overlooked gem because of the system it was released on, for sure.

1) Uncharted: Golden Abyss

It was disappointing when this number one game on this list didn't get to appear in The Nathan Drake Collection that was released early last month on the PlayStation 4. Even if it were just released as a digital release, much like when Ratchet: Deadlocked as was released digitally when the Ratchet & Clank Collection came out for retail in PAL territories. Regardless, Sony Bend's effort with Uncharted: Golden Abyss is highly impressive, but unfortunately, being on the Vita, not as many people as Sony would have liked played it. A second chance on the PlayStation 4, if but a digital release, would be a great way to play the entire Uncharted series of games on one system. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Monday, November 2, 2015

It's a very special edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs this week! We celebrate with our 1,000th VGM volume! Leading the celebration is a fantastic final boss theme from Radiant Historia. Then we delve into the feudal fairy tale of Okami, have our drinks shaken and not stirred with James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, and brave one of Bowser's strongholds with New Super Mario Bros. Finally, we celebrate the 1,000th VGM with the Monster Hunter series.

If you'd like to go back in the past to check out the past VGM volumes before this one (and I know you do), then check out the VGM Database.

This high intensity final boss theme from Radiant Historia starts this very special edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs off. One of the queens of VGM, Yoko Shimomura, poured her heart and soul into making the magnificent music for this often overlooked Nintendo DS RPG. If you have the time and the money, definitely check out Radiant Historia, as it is one of the DS's best original RPGs available.

We move on from Radiant Historia's RPG gameplay to the action-adventure, Zelda-inspired gameplay of Okami. Dragon Palace is a calming and tranquil theme that delivers raw emotion. Okami may have run on too long for its own good play time-wise, but there are far worse games that have outstayed their welcome.

With the 24th James Bond film out now in the U.K. and it releasing in the U.S. this Friday, it seems like a good time to delve into a past game featuring 007. Everything or Nothing was Pierce Brosnan's final outing as the iconic MI6 special agent. The actual game is quite good, rivaling GoldenEye in excellence, though this game was third-person. The theme song is something that easily sounds like something from an actual movie!

After a long hiatus from 2D platformers, Mario returned on the Nintendo DS with New Super Mario Bros. While all of the future New Super Mario Bros. games outperformed the DS game in quality (in this site's opinion), the original NSMB is still quite the game. Sure, it feels more vanilla and uninspired compared to future entries, but compared to other platformers on the system, it's still highly competent.

Performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, this theme, Proof of a Hero, was one of many that audience attendees got to hear at Monster Hunter's fifth anniversary concert. This bombastic string and brass flavored theme gives a heroic and majestic feeling to listeners, making it more than worthy of being SuperPhillip Central's 1,000 VGM volume.

Eight reviews came out of the month of October here on SuperPhillip Central. A Better Late Than Never review kicked things off with Bean reviewing Grand Theft Auto V's last gen version, scoring it an A-. The lone Halloween game for this month was Extreme Exorcism, haunting its way to a B-. Then, the excellent Freedom Planet was given an A- from Bean. Following that were two smaller, lesser known digital games, Toto Temple Deluxe (C) and Q.U.B.E.: Director's Cut (B-). Wrapping things up for October were two platformers and a unique pinball game. Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash was the first of the platformers, whipping its way to a B, the pinball game was Momonga Pinball Adventures on the Wii U eShop (C), and finally, the second platformer was the game of the month, the excellent Yoshi's Woolly World, getting an A.